Unable to extract messages from stored DBX files

[MyronGold666]

I recently was forced to perform a complete system wipe and a reinstall of Windows XP Professional. I copied my DBX files to a DVD-ROM with all my other data, believing they would be available following the reinstall, as in previous undertakings.

However, after copying my DBX folders back to the hard drive, I am unable to drop them into OE and retrieve the messages. I have employed several DBX recovery programs, including Macallan Outlook Express Extraction, DBXtract, DBXConv and several others.

A strange thing happens when I try and use these programs to retrieve the messages or convert the folders' contents into .emls or any other formats: the programs seem to run without any error messages, yet nothing happens. Destination folders remain empty. It's like the DBX files are themselves empty, yet they are the correct file sizes from when I saved them.

So they can't be empty, right?

 

[Borg]

Are you sure that you didn't accidently create a shortcut? Certain Windows files will create shortcuts by default when you just drag them from where they want to be. It would still show the correct size of the file that it pointed to when you 'saved' it but the data wouldn't be there.